Tag Archives: EU

Germany was forced on Wednesday to draw on its reserves for producing electricity for the second time this winter as Europe is gripped by a severe cold snap.

The country’s four main power operators requested the reserve generator at a coal-powered plant in southern Germany and two plants in Austria be activated, the regional environment ministry in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said.

The power station in Germany, in the southern city of Mannheim, would continue to be used Thursday, a spokesman said.

“We do not have a problem of supply, of quantity, it’s principally a question of stabilizing the network,” a spokeswoman for the Germany electricity market regulator said.

Germany also had to tap its reserves in early December. The system was set up in August to avoid shortages and stabilize the network for the country’s winter power provision. Read more:

“Stabilizing the network” because their wind farms weren’t up to it and because of anti-nuclear policies. But coal is the answer and we guess oil sands oil is too dirty. Sigh.

Everyone deserves a vacation and taxpayers should pay for them. Of course taxpayers will only pay for those who can’t afford one themselves. Sound silly, sound insane? From the wacky world of EU thinking:

The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers’ dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips.

Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, proposed a strategy that could cost European taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros a year, The Times of London reports.

“Travelling for tourism today is a right.

Would each family and individual be investigated? Did you spend your money on something else? Alcohol? Drugs? Gambling? Perhaps you just didn’t save for a vacation and spent it on coffee at Tims. Do you want government peeking in every corner of your life? It will follow.

The plan — just who gets to enjoy the travel package has yet to be determined — would see taxpayers footing some of the vacation bill for seniors, youths between the ages of 18 and 25, disabled people, and families facing “difficult social, financial or personal” circumstances. The disabled and elderly can also be accompanied by one other person. Read more:

Sounds like a plan to save the airline industry at taxpayer expense and a program just waiting to be abused. Who gets to decide who can be a parasite and who has to pay for their own, now less affordable travel? It’s enough to make one cry.